Morphological Projectile Point Typology: Replication Experimentation and Technological Analysis

1986 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 603-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Jeffrey Flenniken ◽  
Anan W. Raymond
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Single Point ◽  
Projectile Point ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Cultural Markers ◽  
Technological Analysis ◽  
Point Type

Morphological typologies of projectile points in North America have often been employed as time-sensitive prehistoric cultural markers. This article demonstrates that the contingencies of point manufacture, hafting, use, and rejuvenation create morphological changes that may render questionable use of these morphological typologies as prehistoric cultural markers. Thirty projectile points were replicated according to the attributes of a commonly employed typological scheme for the Great Basin. Experiments with hafting, impact, and rejuvenation demonstrate that a single point-type may manifest more than one "time-sensitive" shape within its normal uselife.

Points in Time: Direct Radiocarbon Dates on Great Basin Projectile Points

2013 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 580-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey M. Smith ◽  
Pat Barker ◽  
Eugene M. Hattori ◽  
Anan Raymond ◽  
Ted Goebel
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Projectile Point ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Point Types ◽  
Cross Dating ◽  
Age Estimates

AbstractTypological cross-dating is the primary means by which archaeological sites are placed into chronological frameworks. This approach relies on the assumption that artifacts at undated sites—usually projectile points—are coeval with similar artifacts found at Other, dated sites. While typological cross-dating is necessary in regions dominated by open-air lithic scatters, the approach can be problematic when undated and dated sites are separated by significant distances. Here, we present radiocarbon dates on projectile points with organic hafting material still attached or found within organic storage bags. Our results provide unequivocal ages for various morphological projectile point types at several Great Basin locales and should be useful to researchers seeking local age estimates for those point types, which often involves relying on chronological data from more distant sites. The results also highlight potential issues with uncritically applying typological cross-dating using typologies based on metric attributes, and in two cases, suggest the need to revise the age ranges for certain point styles in the western Great Basin.

The Burin-Faceted Projectile Point

1963 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremiah F. Epstein
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Projectile Point ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Point Types ◽  
Indian Point

AbstractA series of Paleo-Indian and Archaic projectile points with burin facets at either the proximal or distal end is described. Most of the points come from Texas. The burin facets appear to be intentional products of the burin technique, used either for the production of burins and burin spalls, or for modifying the shape of the point itself. Paleo-Indian point types with burin facets include Clovis, Cumberland, Folsom, Plainview, Meserve, Angostura, and a number of variant forms. The data suggest that the burin or the burin technique may have been widespread throughout North America during early fluted-point times.

Aspects of Culture Change in the Late Prehistoric Period on the Northwestern Plains

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 317-332
Author(s):  
Caroline R. Hudecek-Cuffe
Keyword(s):  
Culture Change ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Stylistic Variation ◽  
Projectile Point ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Late Prehistoric Period ◽  
Northwestern Plains ◽  
Point Types ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
Point Type

Stylistic and temporal differences in projectile points have long been used by Plains archaeologists to establish chronologies of cultural complexes for the Northern Plains. This practice is often extended to using changes in projectile point types as indicators of culture change. However, since culture is a multivariate phenomenon, culture change cannot be based on a single variable such as a projectile point type, but rather, all aspects of culture as represented in the archaeological record must be considered. With regards to the culture changes between the Avonlea and Old Women's phases of the Late Prehistoric Period on the Northwestern Plains, archaeological evidence of lithic and ceramic assemblages indicates a general continuity between the two phases rather than a distinct break. Thus, any differences between the two phases should not be regarded as involving major culture change but rather as a sequential transition with gradual stylistic variation in projectile points and ceramics.

Identifying Dart and Arrow Points in the Great Basin: Comment on Smith Et Al.'s “Points in Time: Direct Radiocarbon Dates on Great Basin Projectile Points“

2014 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 561-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Hockett ◽  
William R. Hildebrandt ◽  
Jerome H. King
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Projectile Point ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
New Information ◽  
Point Types ◽  
Large Side

Smith et al. (2013) provided important new information concerning the ages of a variety of projectile point types found in the Great Basin. Two of their interpretations, however, deserve further discussion. Smith et al. (2013) concluded that the Nicholarsen (or Nicolarsen) Cache contains both dart and arrow points. However, our application of methods developed by Hildebrandt and King (2012) to distinguish dart and arrow points, indicates that the Nicholarsen Cache contains arrow points exclusively. In addition, we suggest that the two ca. 6,800-year-old “Elko-Eared” points identified by Smith et al. (2013) are Large Side-notched points.

A Barbed Bone Projectile Point from Utah

1940 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-171
Author(s):  
John Gillin
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Present Writer ◽  
Present Specimen ◽  
Similar Nature ◽  
Projectile Point ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
University Of Utah ◽  
Peabody Museum ◽  
A Site

In view of the fact that barbed bone “projectile” points are extremely rare in the Southwestern archaeological area and because such artifacts have a generally northern and arctic distribution in North America, the present specimen from Utah is offered in the hope that other material of a similar nature from the Southwest may be published and that, perhaps, someone may be attracted to the elucidation of the problems implied. The present writer is unaware of other published specimens of bone projectile points from this area, although, of course, bone artifacts of several other types are fairly numerous.The present specimen was recovered in the summer of 1937 by the Peabody Museum-University of Utah joint expedition, of which the writer was field director. The point was found at a site, near Ephraim, Utah, locally known as Witch's Knoll.

The Paleoarchaic to Early Archaic Transition on the Colorado Plateau: The Archaeology of North Creek Shelter

2012 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel C. Janetski ◽  
Mark L. Bodily ◽  
Bradley A. Newbold ◽  
David T. Yoder
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Colorado Plateau ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Small Game ◽  
Early Archaic ◽  
Animal Resources ◽  
Arid West

AbstractRecent literature on Paleoarchaic and Early Archaic strategies in the arid west of North America has characterized the shift from the earlier to later period as constituting an adaptive discontinuity. The empirical bases for this conclusion are shifts in mobility, subsistence, and technology. Paleoarchaic peoples are described as highly mobile, focused on a diversity of animal resources, including birds and small game, and using more exotic toolstone, an aspect of mobility. In contrast, Early Archaic strategies are less mobile, yet more focused on large game, using more local toolstone, and adopting grinding tools presumably to process small seeds. Accompanying this transition is the shift from stemmed to notched projectile points. Data bearing on this transition on the Colorado Plateau have been scarce. Excavations of finely stratified deposits at North Creek Shelter on the Colorado Plateau in southern Utah have yielded support for the adaptive discontinuity position, although qualitative differences between the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau are apparent in mobility and faunal use.

scholarly journals Why Did Projectile-Point Size Increase in the Andean Altiplano Archaic? An Experimental Atlatl Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Caleb K. Chen ◽  
Luis Flores-Blanco ◽  
Randall Haas
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Penetration Depth ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Projectile Point ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Andean Altiplano ◽  
Andean Highlands ◽  
Economical Alternative ◽  
Over Time

Archaic projectile points from the Andean Altiplano exhibit a curious trend of increasing size over time, in contrast to a well-documented size reduction throughout North America. Although a number of hypotheses exist to account for decreasing projectile-point size, there are currently no explicit explanations for increasing size. We consider several hypotheses and interrogate two techno-economic hypotheses. We posit that increasing point size compensated for lost dart momentum or accuracy that resulted from the shortening of atlatls or atlatl darts as wood became increasingly scarce on the tree-sparse Altiplano. We evaluate these hypotheses using a replicated Andean atlatl system in ballistic trials. Contrary to expectation, results show that point enlargement significantly reduces penetration depth, allowing us to confidently reject the momentum hypothesis. Point enlargement, in contrast, tentatively correlates positively with accuracy. Our experiment further shows that camelid bone is an effective and economical alternative to wood for atlatl production. Despite suboptimal lengths, camelid radioulna atlatls have a convenient morphology that requires low production time, which helps explain empirically observed camelid bone atlatls from the Andean highlands. More generally, our observations lead us to consider that central tendencies in archaeologically observed projectile-point size may reflect a trade-off between penetration and accuracy.

El Inga Projectile Points — Surface Collections

1966 ◽  
Vol 31 (5Part1) ◽  
pp. 644-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J Mayer-Oakes
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
South American ◽  
Projectile Point ◽  
Large Sample ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Line Drawings ◽  
A Site ◽  
Fluted Points ◽  
Material Form

AbstractSurface collecting in 1960 and excavations in 1961 have produced a large sample of chipped obsidian tools from El Inga, a site in Highland Ecuador. From a total surface collection sample of 83 projectile points, 25 complete and 3 nearly complete specimens have been examined intensively. They are described here by precise line drawings and narrative statements about the presence or absence and quantity or quality of morphological and technological attributes within the five attribute systems of material, form, dimension, chipping, and grinding. The three major projectile point styles derived here — “Fell's Cave Stemmed,” “Ayampitin,” and “Paijan” — are interpreted as representing horizon markers in South American preceramic times. The “Fell's Cave Stemmed” style is earliest and shows some technological relationships to the "fluted" points of North America.

scholarly journals The Cultural Transmission of Great Basin Projectile-Point Technology I: An Experimental Simulation

2008 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Mesoudi ◽  
Michael J. O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Individual Learning ◽  
Experimental Simulation ◽  
Projectile Point ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Individual Level

A Darwinian evolutionary approach to archaeology naturally leads to a focus on cultural transmission. Theoretical models of cultural evolution indicate that individual-level details of cultural transmission can have specific and significant population-level effects, implying that differences in transmission may be detectable in the archaeological record. Here we present an experimental simulation of the cultural transmission of prehistoric projectile-point technology, simulating the two transmission modes-indirect bias and guided variation-that Bettinger and Eerkens (1999) suggested were responsible for differences in Nevada and California point-attribute correlations. Groups of participants designed “virtual projectile points” and tested them in “virtual hunting environments,” with different phases of learning simulating, alternately, indirectly biased cultural transmission and independent individual learning. As predicted, periods of cultural transmission were associated with significantly stronger attribute correlations than were periods of individual learning. We also found that participants who could engage in indirectly biased horizontal cultural transmission outperformed individual-learning controls, especially when individual learning was costly and the selective environment was multimodal. The study demonstrates that experimental simulations of cultural transmission, used alongside archaeological data, mathematical models and computer simulations, constitute a useful tool for studying cultural change.

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